JTOG Day 29: Braking News: Another Major Problem with Torch!

Torch’s brake light came ON. I stopped, filled her up, and we continued on using the Emergency Brake when needed.

Just when you think it was safe to go back in the water… DUH-duh … DUH-duh… DUH-duh … DUH-duh… Torch’s tilted back wheels were all repaired and we were on our way to Salina Cruz and the Pacific Coast of Mexico. I came out from a nice steak lunch at a trucker’s stop and my brake pedal went nearly to the floor. I suspect that somehow during Torch’s numerous operations back at Bridgestone that maybe a brake line was nicked. No proof and no resentment as it is what it is. Oh well, dual systems, lost back brakes but still have front brakes and the manual mechanical Emergency Brake. Not a lot of options out in the middle of nowhere Mexico. Torch is still moving and I can stop her, if not on a dime, then on a half dollar for sure. Decisions are easier when there are less options and only one goal in mind. Make it to Rio!

Giving Torch an impromptu bath while stopping for gas.

Today was a ‘truckin day’ in that the plan was to do 370 miles, about half way to Guatemala City from Peubla, and find a bed somewhere in Salina Cruz. It was a 7-hour trip on Google Maps which took about 10 hours. Not bad, n0 complaints. Good roads, headed southeast on 150D and 145D and then south on 185, some construction but few delays (other than stopping and filling up the steering and brake fluid reservoir), and mostly smooth roads. I was getting good at matching speed to road conditions and was relieved to see Torch’s rear wheels stay vertical and perpendicular to the road all the way to our destination for the day.

Another beautiful Valley Vista on the way to the Pacific Ocean.

The topography was gentle mountains, rolling hills and some plateaus and the scenery was absolutely beautiful. At one time we reached an elevation of 8049 meters I guess, no that can’t be right (would be over 26,000 feet), must be 8,049 feet above sea level which was where I hoped to be at the end of the day. All downhill, right? Not right. Looking back I though about the high elevation of Mexico City. Like Denver, the Mile-High City, I always thought it would be sitting there up on a pedestal. But it was not, never is. In fact, Mexico City sits in a bowl surrounded by higher elevations. You have to go down to get to it and up to get out of it. I see life like that at times, other than expected, and surely some challenges and difficult times down or up to clear and obstacle and then coast a bit when things are going smoothly your way.

Torch’s brake light came ON. I stopped, filled her up, and we continued on using the Emergency Brake when needed.

There were agua (water) stops along the way that looked like wishing wells to me which took me back to my childhood growing up at 2 Florence Street. My Dad built a wishing well on a triangular piece of grass just after you entered the gate to our front yard. Pitching pennies for good luck, I did the same with a prayer said for Torch to stay healthy until once again we could find her the help she needs.

It was a philosophical day for sure. Having Torch resurrected in Mexico City to now face another hurdle. It was a Friday night and as I drove towards Salinas Cruz, which was actually a little bit back to the north, I drove through Juchitan de Zaragoza. Right there on the village square with a lot of activity, was an inviting Hotel El Cruce. I parked and went inside and met a nice young man, probably 16 or 17 years old named Omar. He had a room at a more than decent price and showed it to me. It wasn’t clean so he called his mother to come clean it. After parking Torch down the street in a caged area for safety, I came back and sat in the lobby and connected to the internet.

Corey sitting in Torch on a carefree day when we would put her top down and go see an afternoon movie.

There was a television on and the movie Shrek was playing. Quite quickly the movie came to the part where Fiona has gone to the castle and Shrek returned to his swamp. Both are miserable and John Cale’s Hallelujah song comes on. Shrek was my nephew Corey’s favorite movie. He died at age 17 from cancer. No one deserves to die at age 17. But like Shrek and Fiona who figured it out and reunited, Corey will never be separate from anyone who knew him. A lively and courageous young man, he persevered in his illness to the very end, helping to develop drugs for those that would follow and hopefully be cured one day. As I did every day of the Journey when I was driving Torch, I was wearing my orange Corey “Peach, No Pain, No Gain. Never Stop Believing” T-Shirt.

It was now a philosophical and emotional day for me. No matter where we are on our journey in life it is good to know we are headed in the right direction. My bed was ready and I went to bed saying my prayers and thankful for the full day of my life I just lived. I feel the same way today writing this a month or so before the third anniversary of Corey’s passing. Here is the link to John Cale’s Hallelujah song on You Tube and the lyrics. Please do me a favor and take a moment to listen to this song and comprehend the lyrics… and enjoy the gift of life today and each day for the rest of your life.

‘Hallelujah.’ as my father would say in his latter years while he embraced that everything in life is indeed temporary except for love.

Click here for John Cale’s Hallelujah song on You Tube.

I’ve heard there was a secret chord
That David played and it pleased the Lord
But you don’t really care for music, do you?
It goes like this, the fourth, the fifth
The minor fall, the major lift
The baffled king composing Hallelujah